Evidence used
- No CISA KEV confirmation is currently recorded.
- EPSS is 0.14% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2026
CVE-2026-14978High confidence
Unicode normalization mismatch in go-slug ignore pattern matching may bypass intended file exclusions
HashiCorp · go-slug
5.5MediumCVSS 3.1
Scheduled
Patch availableMedium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityMedium→Operational priority:Medium, unchanged from published severity.unchanged
Compensating controls
- Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
- Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
- Monitor vendor guidance and exploitation sources for a material change.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs HashiCorp go-slug and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
Direct vendor intelligence
1 currentAuthoritative vendor CSAF and VEX advisories
Structured product status and remediation from the issuing vendor. Product-state explanations are always visible; large lists can be searched or downloaded.
CVE-2026-14978 · CSAF 2.0 · revision 3 · finalRed Hat Product Securitygithub.com/hashicorp/go-slug: go-slug: Sensitive file inclusion via Unicode normalization mismatch
The vendor explicitly states that these products are not affected by this CVE.
- opentofu1.10.src as a component of Red Hat Hardened Images
- opentofu1.11.src as a component of Red Hat Hardened Images
- opentofu1.12.src as a component of Red Hat Hardened Images
- Summary
- A flaw was found in go-slug. A local attacker could bypass `.terraformignore` exclusions, leading to sensitive files being included in Terraform slug uploads. This is caused by improper handling of Unicode normalization during path matching.
- Remediation
- No remediation text is recorded.
Medium technical severity with no CISA KEV confirmation; remediate through the normal risk-based patch cycle unless local exposure raises the priority.
Patch available01
What, why and how
HashiCorp go-slug 0.4.0 through 0.18.2 could allow a local attacker to bypass .terraformignore exclusions and cause sensitive files to be included in Terraform slug uploads due to improper handling of Unicode normalization during path matching.
What
HashiCorp go-slug 0.4.0 through 0.18.2 could allow a local attacker to bypass .terraformignore exclusions and cause sensitive files to be included in Terraform slug uploads due to improper handling of Unicode normalization during path matching.
Why
The product does not properly handle when an input contains Unicode encoding.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation without authentication after a user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
What
HashiCorp go-slug 0.4.0 through 0.18.2 could allow a local attacker to bypass .terraformignore exclusions and cause sensitive files to be included in Terraform slug uploads due to improper handling of Unicode normalization during path matching.
Why
The product does not properly handle when an input contains Unicode encoding.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation without authentication after a user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation No confirmed evidence
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No CISA KEV match was present at the last successful refresh. This means no confirmation from that source, not proof of no exploitation.
Public PoC / exploit material None recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.No exploit-tagged reference or CISA SSVC proof-of-concept state is currently recorded. Research may still exist outside the structured feeds.
- Likely attack path
- local access → Improper Handling of Unicode Encoding → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
- Attack surface
- Local
- Privileges required
- None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
- User interaction
- Required interaction required
- Attack complexity
- Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
- Security boundary
- Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-176 ↗
CWE-176: Improper Handling of Unicode Encoding. The product does not properly handle when an input contains Unicode encoding.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:NCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UIRequiredUser interaction: Another user must perform an action for exploitation to succeed.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.INoneIntegrity impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.ANoneAvailability impact: No direct loss is represented by this metric.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Patch available
- Affected
- go-slug: 0.4.0 ≤ 0.18.2
- Action
- Review the linked authoritative reference and apply the recorded fixed release appropriate to the affected product branch.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
Official vendor articles1 stored document
Linked articles are downloaded and versioned as source evidence. A CVE mention or approved update relationship does not, by itself, verify a fix for every product branch.
- Security Bulletin: Unicode normalization mismatch in go-slug ignore pattern matching may bypass intended file exclusions →Original publisher ↗Searchable text snapshot · Captured 27 Sep 2026IBM Support No results were found for your search query. Tips To return expected results, you can: Reduce the number of search terms. Each term you use focuses the search further. Check your spelling. A single misspelled or incorrectly typed term can change your result. Try substituting synonyms for your original ter
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 19 Aug 2026 · Last source change 20 Aug 2026, 15:20 UTC · CWE-176 · Improper Handling of Unicode Encoding
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.2
CVSS sourceCNA
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-08-23
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2026-63099
Product sourceCNA
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCNA
NVD statusNVD enriched
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
- Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: added vendor advisory: ibm.com/7284170.psirt@us.ibm.com ↗
- Before
- no authoritative guidance recorded
- After
- vendor advisory: ibm.com/7284170
- Catalogue recordCVE added to the BlackTree catalogue.CNA ↗
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.